Octavia Girl

Chapter Twenty Two

Diplocat

When the pod opened to allow Iker to step onto the dock in front of Jenna’s palace, she had to fight a powerful urge not to cross the planks and slap him across the face. Instead, she stood clenching and unclenching her jaw, breathing hard like someone was whipping her back and she had to tolerate it.

Jenna looked at him. He had a powerful build, like Vash. He was the same variant of Adamis, though Jenna still didn’t know the history or characteristics of every type. He had to be a little different from Vash, because the whites of his eyes were black and his irises were a dirty yellow with vertical pupils, which made him look a little like a giant statue of a cat. It had a friendly effect… compared to the other AAMC boulders she had to choose from.

Jenna forced herself to remember that it wasn’t his fault he’d be taken captive. It wasn’t his fault that the AAMC had tried to steal the crowns from her. After all, he was only one head on a hydra. When she had chosen him out of the six AAMC majors, she asked Vash which of them was the best. He chose Iker immediately saying that he had not been involved in his hazing though he had been around at the time and on that fateful night at her palace he had not been outside his bedroom door waiting to haze him all over again. That meant, Iker had been one of the officers who went directly to Jenna’s bedroom to try to steal the crowns. That didn’t make him a good person. Maybe it was a coincidence, but Vash didn’t think he was the sort of person who delighted in the unnecessary discomfort of another person.

Jenna believed her butler, so she said nothing as Fallcet stepped forward to welcome Iker.

Immediately, Jenna had to swallow another round of brain-breaking disgust. Fallcet was welcoming new diplomats to the floating palaces like it was his job. He was the host and Jenna and the others were merely a side note. Jenna balled up her fists, did the minimum required greeting, and swept her skirt in an arc on her way back into her palace.

If Fallcet was so happy with the current situation, Jenna was certain he could take care of the introduction and be a one-man welcome committee. All the same, she tapped her earpiece. “Hi, Ixy. Follow them around and make sure Fallcet doesn’t say anything treasonous.”

“You’re worried he might?”

Jenna smirked. “I think he’s a tad too happy. It’s a little weird. Maybe he’s doing his best to cover for me while I’m lacking, or maybe he wants the AAMC guys to think that he’s one of them for ‘very’ good reasons. Follow him around and formulate an opinion. I mean, I find him grosser than a slug in my shoe, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad diplomat.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Ixy said back. “Jisbet is right above me and since Philip doesn’t give her much to do, she has all the time in the world for stalking. Right now, she says Fallcet is just pleased that he’s no longer sidelined. He was dying to be part of the intergalactic drama. If he does anything weird, you’ll hear about it. Jisbet is very loud and now she’s got stuff to talk about. If you’re ever bored, she can give you a play-by-play of what it was like for her to live with Armen and Lucy.”

Jenna swallowed her disgust. “I’d rather not hear any of that stuff. I can’t be bothered about them anymore and with any luck, we won’t have to deal with them again.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like to see what they’re talking about on the House and Home Network? Last I heard, the happy couple has been complaining to the news outlets about the poor condition of your grandfather’s house. They’re getting a home makeover.”

Jenna snorted. “I really can’t think about them. Unless there is something more serious than petty gossip surrounding them, please don’t mention their doings to me again. Peek in on Fallcet and Iker the next chance you get. I also need you to arrange for Rennett’s palace to be brought to the cluster for the crowning tomorrow.”

“Will do,” her personal assistant replied.

Jenna flung open the door to her bedroom and paced through the room a few times before stepping into her closet and removing her earrings. Keeping up appearances was all well and good, but painful hairdos and heavy earrings all night were asking a little much. She dropped the hoops into her jewelry tray and then pulled the pins out of her hair, letting it fall. Each pin made the sound of metal hitting glass as she got her act together.

“Ixy, can you play a playlist from my old phone?” Jenna asked as she bent to unclasp her barefoot sandals.

“Uh, Jenna. When you’re right, you’re right, and you are always right,” Ixy said with a snort.

Jenna stuck out her tongue. “Fallcet botched it already, didn’t he?”

“Yes, he did. Epically. Iker is on his way to your palace. Want me to lock the doors?”

“Nah, don’t block him. You may as well tell him that I’m in here. Just close the curtains around my bed, so that at least that part of the room remains somewhat private. At least, you don’t have to tell him how to get here.” Jenna got up and strolled back into the bedroom.

“Stop right there,” she said to Iker as he stood outside her bedroom door in the hallway. “I would hate for you to come into my bedroom twice without asking for my permission.”

Iker stopped where he was and kept his feet in the hallway. He didn’t ask for permission to enter, he just spoke from his position outside her bedroom. “I’ve heard that Phane Mockving is in orbit and you have been speaking to him.”

Jenna smiled and nodded. “May I offer you a drink?” she said, pouring herself a glass of water from a glass decanter.

He shook his head angrily.

“And you feel that Phane being in orbit is somehow your business?” she asked placidly. The few minutes she had spent undoing her hair had done wonders for her resilience.

“He’s practically a traitor,” Iker spat. He looked sort of like a kitty statue stuck in a hissing pose.

Jenna chuckled, unaware that the sudden laughter made her more beautiful than anything.

“What’s so funny?” Iker asked, his voice warbling.

Jenna put up a hand to stop herself from making inappropriate sounds. “I’m sorry,” she said, straightening. “Nothing is funny. Tell me your objections to Phane.”

“I was on a rescue mission once where a decision needed to be made. He chose Octavian lives over Adamis lives.”

“I’ve heard this story,” Jenna said. “He put the rescue of the fifty Adamis passengers on hold until he could rescue the 215 Octavian passengers. I read all about it. As far as he was concerned, it was a question of math. There were 215 Octavians aboard the Winner’s Cup and only fifty Adamis and six Octavians aboard the Sunstreak. Phane believes Octavians are people, so he put his efforts to the larger number. What’s the problem?”

“The AAMC always prioritizes the needs of Adamis,” Iker said. His shoulders were squared and his hands clasped in front of him, almost like he was standing at attention.

“Hmm,” Jenna hummed. “That’s the policy of the AAMC, huh? It doesn’t matter what else goes down the tubes as long as Adamis interests are served?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he practically barked.

She nodded patiently. “Are you aware that you aren’t a member of the AAMC anymore?”

“Very aware. I have not been in the army since I was discharged for entering your bedroom,” he said, standing in the doorway of that bedroom.

“Why are you representing the interests of an organization you’re no longer a part of?” Jenna asked in a sly, but patient, voice.

Iker’s shoulders fell, almost like he was a blowup man who was deflating. “I… I…”

“Are you here to tell the Octavians that if they don’t do what the AAMC wants, that they’ll be here with ten thousand gunships to blow Octavia Prime to pieces?”

“No, ma’am,” he said instantly, though his voice had lost quite a lot of its original volume.

“Listen, Iker. You are no longer part of the AAMC. You are no longer required to follow their orders. It may be the policy of the AAMC to strongarm any other nation into doing only what benefits Adamis civilization most. I know they’re annoyed that the Octavians do not play by their rules, but now is an opportunity for all of us to see exactly what deals are on the table and to try to negotiate something that promotes peace instead of war. You now work as a representative for all Adamis people, and what they need is someone who is willing to stand up for fairness and cooperation. I’m sure we can find those kinds of solutions.”

“They told me,” he said quietly. “They told me I was here to represent the AAMC.”

“Yes. That’s what they’re hoping for. The man who is getting crowned tomorrow with you is still a member of the AAMC. His name is General Rennett. The other man the AAMC sent me was never even in the armed forces. Scion Xant is the son of an arms dealer. Your old masters want to represent more than just the formal interests of the AAMC. But you are no longer a member of the AAMC and you have very few ties back to their organization other than your own loyalty. And I asked for you. I snatched you right out from under their noses.”

Iker looked astonished, like a big astonished cat standing in her door frame. “You asked for me personally?”

“Didn’t they tell you?” she asked, a welcoming smile warming her face.

“No,” he breathed.

“I did. If they hadn’t interfered, I probably would have chosen you to crown before everything went to crap and you were forced to leave in disgrace.”

Ixy chirped up inside Jenna’s ear. “Is that true, Jenna?”

Jenna ignored her PA.

Jenna took a step forward. “I’m not asking you to ignore your AAMC roots. I’m asking you to consider the idea that your loyalties have shifted a little. You have been given an opportunity to aid Adamis and Octavians alike. Take it slow. There will be plenty of time for you to read and learn what is right before you vote.”

“I’ve been told to abstain if the voting doesn’t seem to be going our way,” he said.

“I know,” she said, taking a few steps closer to him. She put out her hand and he went to shake hers. She clasped his one hand in her two and said in a voice as sweet and soft as cotton candy, “If you consistently refuse to vote, I’ll have you shipped off-world and though I cannot remove your crown, you will not be included in the eight diplomats who live in the palaces. I’m allowing Rennett to stay because he’ll die if I ship him off-world. I will have nothing like the same problem with you. I will replace you. Don’t forget that I lived on a different planet with no diplomatic responsibilities and a huge black crown on my head for decades. I can easily do the same to you.”

She tried to release Iker’s hand, but his other hand came around and padded hers in a meaty double handshake. “Aren’t you afraid?”

“Of?” she questioned, clasping his hands tighter around his, even though she doubted he could feel the pressure.

“Me? Scion? Fallcet? The whole of the AAMC? They have forced you out of your home twice. What makes you think they couldn’t do it again?”

Jenna laughed, a delightful musical sound. “Let them. It’s fine.”

His teeth glinted in the lamplight. It wasn’t exactly threatening, more like a warning that needed to be given with teeth smiles instead of lippy ones. “Why?”

“I don’t really have anything to give to this program that I haven’t already given.”

He cocked his head like a perplexed cat. She liked him better, but she had started from a place so very low, so it wasn’t hard for her to like him better.

Fallcet chose that moment to come around the corner. He had obviously been listening and waiting for the correct part of the conversation to insert himself. He had chosen his moment well, and he took Iker by the elbow and started pointing him toward his new palace before Jenna’s porcelain demeanor cracked.

When they were gone, Jenna closed the door and crossed the room to her bed.

“Jenna, I know you’re full of crap, but was that true?”

“Was what true?”

“Would you have crowned Iker when he was here the first time if they hadn’t broken into your bedroom? When you said that to him, he changed completely, from the way he was looking at you to the words that came out of his mouth. Was it true?”

“It probably was. I wasn’t overly impressed with the candidates sent by the AAMC, but I would have asked Vash which of them he thought was the least objectionable and crowned him. I may have crowned more of them, but I only needed one. Vash thought he was a good guy. Perhaps a little too good at following orders, obviously, but a good guy.”

“It did him in. They don’t have hotties like you ordering guys around in the higher ranks of the AAMC.”

“Do they even have women in the AAMC?”

“They do, but it may not even matter that you’re a woman. He might have been just as happy to follow you if you were a man. It’s your charisma that gets them. Charisma.”

“Yeah, I’m brimming with it tonight,” she said, rubbing her shoulder that was feeling tight from strain.

“I’ll let you know if His ship appears in the Xypher Zone.” Ixy didn’t need to say his name.

Him, he, his, would all only refer to Sardius. He had become a him with a capital H. The only man left in the universe. That’s who he was to Jenna.

“Thanks, Ixy,” she whispered before she splashed the water in her glass into her face rather than drinking it.